I started writing this post while sitting in a McDonalds eating a Wispa McFlurry while using their free wireless. I bought a Samsung NC10 just under a week ago and have since upgraded the HDD to 320GB (sorry PS3), and installed Windows 7 (which absolutely flies). I’m yet to increase the RAM to its max of 2GB but that will happen as soon as payday comes along.
I decided that I was in dire need of some deep, meaningful games that I could run on such a machine that has not been designed for gaming at all because frankly the wireless in McDonalds is terrible and I don’t want to encourage any mobile companies by paying crazy money for a few megs of their broadband just for something to do. So I’ve been doing some research and testing and this is the list of games that I’ve come up with so far that all run perfectly well on my NC10 and therefore most Atom based netbook.
The only absolute requirement that a game must meet (other than achieving a playable frame rate) is that it must run within the 1024*600 resolution. This is not usually an issue since most games at least support 800*600. There are however a few features that would make a game perfect for netbook gaming…
- Can still run in power save mode.
- Can be operated by keyboard alone
- Widescreen support
- Cheap
Bearing this in mind, these are the games that I can play successfully on my NC10.
The Games:
1. Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour: You’ll find this in a bargain bin somewhere.
Now I really wasn’t expecting a game like this to run as well as it does on my little netbook but run it does. You need to reduce the graphics settings down to the lowest and there is no widescreen support but this is a cracking game at 800*600. It’s not perfect however as it does struggle in low power mode and you will need a mouse.
2. Uplink: Steam £5.99
This hacking simulator is a timeless indie classic which, through Steam and standalone installs, runs on any version of Windows from XP onwards. The retro visuals are based on what hollywood thinks hacking looks like which, as far as most people are concerned, its as real as it gets. It’s all black, white and blue, creating a very 24, CTU style interface. Uplink can be pretty tense in the later stages of the game as you try to break into increasingly secure systems while covering your tracks and trying not to let the increasingly frequent beep of the trace tracker (think motion sensor from Aliens) get to you. It’s one of the few games where you can’t exit without saving meaning, if you get caught, it’s game over! No quicksave, die, reload here. No Mouse required (there is a little bit of mousing but nothing the trackpad can’t handle). Widescreen support is also included.
A typical view of Uplink.
3. Anything on the GoldScr engine: Steam £5.99
This includes the original Half-Life and all it’s mods. Obviously there is a great selection of games on offer on this tech, from Counterstrike to Natural Selection. Widescreen support is included for all Valve titles and their mods. You are definitely going to want a proper mouse for all of these.
The Specialists. Awesome death match mod for Half-Life
4. Civilization III Complete: Steam £2.99
One of the most addictive games ever made, this is considered by many to be the best in the series. Regardless of that, it’s the best one that will run properly on a netbook. You don’t need a mouse but you will want one. 800*600 is the only resolution this game supports for my NC10 but it’s more than adequate. Many hours of deep gaming to be had here.
Civ III. Very Epic and different every time
5. Anything by Pop Cap: Steam 6.99
Peggle, Plants Vs. Zombies, Bejeweled, Zuma, etc. Great puzzle gaming. All will run on your netbook, no problem. You will want a mouse for most of them and there is no widescreen support.
Plants Vs. Zombies
6. Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas: Steam from £5.99
Now this was a nice surprise. This is arguably one of the best game franchises ever created, with colourful graphics, colourful language, adult themes, great character and story writing, fun vehicle handling and varied missions. Vice City and San Andreas rank amongst my most memorable gaming experiences. Both have genuine laugh out loud moments and intense, open-ended missions in a sandbox environment. Widescreen support is available but you will want a mouse.
The always colourful, Vice City
7. Quake Live: Free
The best thing to happen to free gaming? Probably. Quake Live is now in Open Beta after a year of refining their near perfect fast paced death match model. The game is 100% browser-based and can go full widescreen. This is basically the best of Quake III Arena and Team Arena, for free, in your browser. It doesn’t support Chrome yet (my favourite for my netbook) but it does support Firefox, IE or Safari. You will need a mouse and an internet connection. There is a built-in friends list so joining games is easy and you can also practice against bots. This really is a complete, modern game for free. Thank you ID.
A whole lot more.
There are many other games that will run on your netbook. Of course there’s pretty much every web game ever made and bunch from the old catalogue such as Alien Vs Predator, Monkey island and a lot of favourites that recently got added support for current systems. Dosbox is also worth a look if you want to go waaaaay back.
